Improvement in cop-tubes



J. ESSEX.

COP-TUBE.

Patented March: '7, I876.

- WITNESSES W UNITED STATES" PATENT OEEIcE;

' JEREMIAH EssEX, OF BENNINGTON, VERMONT.

IMPROVEMENT IN COP- TUBES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No.

174,505, dated March 7, 1876; application filed January 3, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JEREMIAH EssEx, of

thetown of Bennington, in the county of or frames, upon the surface of which spindles,

itis securely held by the force of interiorfrictional contact, and a length sufficient to extend entirely through the cop designed to .be V spun or manufactured thereon.

The objects sought .to be accomplished by this invention are several, among which may be enumerated the following, enumerating in the order in which they appear in the process of manufacture. By their use thecop is provided with a rigid cylindrical inflexible core,

which cannot-be removed therefrom without destroying the yarn, except by unwinding or reeling ofl', asinprocess of weaving or spooling, and which, in process of weaving, absolutely prevents the cop from-being thrownoff the skewer or breakingin two by the force of the blow of the picker-staff, or from being detached by the operative, and wasted when either the yarnor loom may be working improperly. These cop-spindles being constructed bymachinery of uniform sizeorealiber, each with the other, are 'much more readily adjusted on spindles adapted to receive them than the oldstyle of short paper or metallic tube now very generally used. Theexistence of this rigid core permits a much softer cop to be made than when-made on a. spindle-with out it, and, as a consequence, cottonof much shorter stapleniay be used in spinning fine,

yarn than can be worked bythe old appliances,' -because neither so long a drag nor so much tension in winding the yarn onto the spindle is called for as is necessaryto make a firm, strong, hard copof veryfine yarn in the old way; This is owingto the fact that the intricate cross-winding or reticulation of the yarn incident to the drag movement, so essential to secure a firm, strong cop, which will weave well, becomes a matter of inferioror secondary importance when these copvspindles are used, for experience shows that i when made altogether too soft and with too short a drag to weave without a tube or core, with one, the yarn in weaving runs off freely and to the last inch without breaking. It is I well known that in working short staple cotton into fine yarn, especially on self-acting English mules, much difficulty is met in the tendency of the yarn to break, growing out of a the fact that so much tension must be used to wind thelcop-firmly to get the desired degree of hardness that this very tension has a tendency to, and in many cases does really,

draw out and partially orentirely sever the yarn under or between the rolls, so that on close examination .it will be found that weak 0r attenuated spots in the yarn, recurring at regular intervals of each stretch, may be found. These weak, thin spots are less liable to be found or occur where a moderate tension in winding is used than when it isrigid; From the fact that copscan be made with a shorter drag, it follows that the maximum size of the cop can bepreserved a greaterportion of its'length than otherwise, thusputting more yarn into the cop, and, at the same time, rendering the doflings less frequent. When completed, thecop is in a most perfect condition either for weaving or transportation, andvmay. be handled with impunity, the danger of crushing, by which common .cops are materially'injured, being entirely prevented by the core. It frequently happens .in mule-spinning,-where short tubes or none at all are used, when a thread has brokenand several stretches have been made before the end has been picked up and pieced, that when so pieced a weak, scant, or soft place will be left in the body of the cop, thus rendering it very liable in process of weaving to be broken in two by the blow of the picker-staifthe nose end of the cop being. detached and lodging in theshuttle, and the butt or bottom end adhering to the shuttle-skewer, thereby occa-,

instances, a loss of the whole or a considera ble portion of the cop. With cops made on and made from a diversity of materials and.

of various lengths, and constructed with their surfaces roughened in a great variety of ways to facilitate the adhesion of the yarn to, and its retention by, such tubes, have heretofore been made; and I am aware that tubes and bobbins to facilitate the spinningof yarn and its formation into cops ready for spooling, reeling, or Weaving, provided with various kinds of flanges at the bottom have heretoforebeen used v and I am also awarethat metallic tubes extending entirely through the cop, having both ends open, provided with afiange at bottom end, and provided with longitudinal slots and round perforations, through the material of which its cylindrical portion was composed, of which latterclass'the tubes shown in the English Patent No. 1,162, granted to James Milton in the year 1870, is an example,

have also been made, and that hollow metal-- lic flanged cop-tubes, provided on their external surfaces with raised circumterentially-parallel rings or ribs, and having a solid or closed top of -conical shape to adapt it for spinning,

have been devised; but in none heretofore used or made am -I aware that such useful, desirable, or extensive results are accomplished as are attained by the subject of the present invention.

To enable others skilled in the art to whichmy invention relates to construct and use the same I-w ill here briefly describe its construction and'operation, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part ofthis specification, in which my invention is shown in elevation and partial vertical longitudinal section applied to an ordinary mulespindle.

. I have preferably constructed this tube or cop spindle of metal, although I do not restrict. myself as to material in its construction.

I- have shown a flange, l), at its base, which may either be made from the same piece of material as the tube, or may be in another piece and suitably attached, This flange serves to add strength to the tube or spindle,

as well as to keep dirt and dust from gettinginto the bearing below it and oil from the bol-' ster getting onto the cop; but the invention is operative without this flange, although I have preferably shown it.

The form or style which I have adopted for the top of my cop-tube or cop-spindle is a solid or closed one, and the apex thereof is constructed in form similar to the top or apex of an ordinary mule-spindle, as shown at E, and the chambered, hollow, or interior portion is 7 designed to be suflicien t1 y capacious vertically to allow the-same to be applied to very short mule-spindles by slipping the tube over the top of the spindle, it being held thereon by force of internal frictional contact; but when it is designed to use my invention on long spindles the tops of the mule-spindles may be cut off sufficiently to permit the cop-spindle to be attached at its proper elevation.

To secure adhesion of the yarn to and its retention on the tube I have elected from many devices the spiral rib a c 0, which preferably consists of a very fine wire wound spirally, with gradually-diminishing pitch from the bottom nearly to the top, where it merges into the surface of the-tube on a line nearly parallel with its axis.

It is preferable, in making these tubes, to

have the spiral ribs 0 c 0 wind about the tube V in a direction opposite to the winding on of the yarn, by which several points of advantage are secured, to wit, when the mule is running in or toward the rolls the spiral formation of the rib near the top of the tube assists the thread to find the top of the spindle after the mule is geared ready to make a stretch, and when the spindles leave the rollers on their retrograde movement, and have finished the stretch, the motion having been reversed, this rib materially facilitates the movement or action of the-yarn known to spinners as backing-01f, thereby, at all times, preserving a smooth nose on the cop. It is preferable that the interior surface of these tubes or cop-spindles be smooth throughout the entire length thereof;

In mutually adapting these cop-spindles and mule-spindles to each other it is desirable to relieve both the cop-spindle and the mule or 7 driving spindle of as much of their weight as possible. Therefore, I preferably have the union of the two effected for as short a distance as possible above the bottom of the copspindle, by 'which form of construction I am enabled to shorten the driving-spindle to its minimum practicable length, and at the same time I construct the cop-spindle hollow or chambered out from its bottom to as near its top or apex as is possible. A special advantage of my peculiar form of spiral rib consists in the fact that it provides an uninterrupted or continuous ledge upon, over, or behind which every convolution of the yarn wound thereon finds lodgment.

From the foregoing description it becomes apparent that my invention embraces the following elements, which in their various combinations serve to distinguish mine from pre vious inventions of similar character:

First, a tapering cylindrical tube, (old;) 7

mules or frames and short skewers in shuttles, (which is new;) sixth, the mode of roughening a by means of a very fine rib applied to the surface of the tube and running spirally with Variable pitch from base nearly to the top thereof,

(which .is claimed as new,) and which adds materially to the strength and durability of tubes made of light or fragile material; hence I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- Y or I Hollow or chambered cop-tubes or copspindles provided with a flange at bottom, having their exterior surface roughened by a spiral rib with variable pitch, and constructed with a solid'or closed end in the form of a conical apex, substantially as described and set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereto affixed my hand at North Bennington, Vermont, this 29th day of November, 1875. i

' JEREMIAH ESSEX. Witnesses S. B. HALL,- J. W. Essex. 

